Faust
Ronin
Runaway Muse! Everyone, hit the deck![Mo0:2]
Posts: 39
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Post by Faust on Jul 26, 2009 16:41:00 GMT -5
It was a lot like camping. Only, Roscoe didn't have any of his camping gear. And he was alone. And instead of a lovely mountain path or a verdant plain, he was, you know, in the Netherworld. Blair Forest, to be precise, though the ragged EDF engineer didn't know the name. Oh, and there was the fact that instead of a bedroll, he had his giant multi-layered EDF space suit to sleep in. Also, instead of worrying about racoons stealing his food, he had demons to worry about killing him and eating him. But, you know, other than all that it was just like camping.
Roscoe was curled up in one of the trees, eyes half-alert and watching. He was tired, but he had trained himself to sleep in short intervals like a horse. He hadn't yet encountered anything dangerous, but just the thought of being caught off guard made his skin crawl. For right now, he hoped no one noticed the strange brown lump up in the trees...
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Post by Hazzerous on Jul 26, 2009 16:53:46 GMT -5
It had been years since the demonic knight had been outside, she was generally within the confines of the castle, curled up in a corner where she would never be found. Terra was a master of the art of escaping chores, but somehow there had been a fluke. She considered it a fluke, anyway. She had been sleeping in a storage room, with nothing of any use. Mere priceless artifacts with no true purpose loitered about.
Yet somehow ... Etna had managed to find her sleeping there. It had been nearly three months since the previous time Etna had caught her slacking. Generally she was only caught once a blue moon, but Etna had managed to find her slightly faster this time. Unfortunately it wasn't a task she could put off like usual. Generally she was ordered to cook or clean, but alas ... she couldn't just go sleep this one off, and pretend she had done anything while the prinnies ended up cleaning it anyway.
She had been ordered to pick up a particular food for Etna ... though why she couldn't have it delivered was beyond her. Unfortunately it wasn't in a location the Dimensional Gatekeeper could send her directly, either ... "Oh yeah... and you'll have to walk through the Blair Forest on foot."Terra had instantly known this task could only end in failure from the start. She sighed as she passed through the woods, dragging her feet along ... not because she was tired, but because she was just such a lazy person in general. She had been fortunate not to have been attacked by any other demons, though to be fair she wasn't truly afraid. Though she was a talentless low class demon, she was fairly capable of holding her own in a battle.
Her armor clanking every so often, as she walked along, while her boots stepping creaked and rang out occasionally, whenever she stepped on a root or anything hard. Her armor was fairly shabby, though she managed to shine it up so it wouldn't look too terrible.
Though she wasn't tired, she decided she'd take a rest. Though she wouldn't be aware or it, through some sort of freaky coincidence she'd end up leaning under the very tree where the EDF soldier was sleeping in.
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Faust
Ronin
Runaway Muse! Everyone, hit the deck![Mo0:2]
Posts: 39
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Post by Faust on Jul 26, 2009 17:31:52 GMT -5
Roscoe bristled, jolted to life by the sudden appearance of a stranger. He pulled himself together and prepared to do what he did best if he was spotted. He already had a few escape routes planned. Still, it wasn't some horrible, armada-destroying monster like he originally thought. In fact, she looked kinda... normal. Cute, even. Was she EDF, like him?
Wait, he stopped himself before he called out. Wasn't it true that demons sometimes took on the appearance of women and children to fool humans? The Prism Rangers fell victim to that ploy once (secretly, Roscoe was a big fan of the Rangers), and Roscoe decided that he would never fall victim to the same trap. Besides, it's always better to err on the side of caution when dealing with demons, right?
He was pulled out of his planning by a sharp snapping noise. Heh, he thought. Don't suppose it'd be too much to ask that that sound was just the wind? Another snap, a crack, and then Roscoe was plummeting to earth. "Ack! Banzaiiiiiii!"
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Post by Hazzerous on Jul 26, 2009 17:39:20 GMT -5
Terra stared upward out of curiousity, as she began to hear some sort of snap or crackling type noise. To her surprise someone was falling downward towards her. "Wha?" She barely had time to utter the words, as someone fell down ontop of her. She lost consciousness, though only briefly, it seemed her head hit the tree fairly hard. She was fairly resilient, being a demon and all. "Ugh ... my head."
She stood up, noticing the man not too far. "... sir?" She asked curiously, not sure whether the man had merely fallen from the sky, or had attempted to attack her. She wasn't the brightest bulb, and hadn't even considered that he had been in the tree. Unlike most demons, however, she was fairly polite. "Are you alright, sir?" She asked again, as she crept closer.
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Faust
Ronin
Runaway Muse! Everyone, hit the deck![Mo0:2]
Posts: 39
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Post by Faust on Jul 26, 2009 18:01:27 GMT -5
"Ugh... my neck..." Roscoe got up on his elbows. Fortunately the young lady broke his fall. A horrible sentiment, certainly, but it was the truth. Of course, if she was just a normal woman, shouldn't it have been Roscoe worried about her instead of the other way around?
"Okay, wait... hold it!" He scrambled to his feet, hand raised defensively. "Until I figure out if you're gonna eat my soul or something, kindly refrain from coming closer." He took some kind of inept fighting stance. "I'm serious, okay? My name is Roscoe, and I am a full-fledged member of the Earth Defense Force. If I have to fight, then I will."
It was an impressive bit of blustering on Roscoe's part, especially since he managed to keep his voice from quavering the whole time. The truth was, he was unarmed and didn't know the first thing about fighting. Still, maybe if he at least looked like a tough soldier, maybe this woman would think twice about capturing him and keeping him as a pet-slash-slave, at least until dinner rolled around and...
He gulped. Darn it! It's probably best not to think about that right now. Not when you're trying to act tough. I'm sweating, I know I am...
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Post by Hazzerous on Jul 26, 2009 18:27:55 GMT -5
Terra halted in place as the man shouted at her, not fully understanding what he meant. Eat his soul? That wasn't anything that she had interest in, but she respected the man's desire. She held her arms out in a way to show she had no intent of causing trouble.
"Sir, I implore you to desist in such actions. I have no desire to have any manner of confrontation at this moment in time." Her manner is speaking was most unusual, especially among demons. She was glad the man was okay, but it was probable he wasn't even a native of the netherworld. He was far too afraid ... then again, this was the netherworld. Demons shouldn't exactly be sure they won't be attacked, she supposed.
She glanced over his stance, wondering exactly what he was trying to do. She was by no means a martial artist, but she had never seen a stance quite as peculiar as his. Seeing the man was still seemingly nervous, or rather he was being cautious she grabbed the sword off her side and tossed it onto the ground away from the two. "As you can clearly see, I am now unarmed, sir. Surely you should not be afraid of an unarmed woman, while you are clearly a master of hand-to-hand combat? Also, I'd prefer if you'd refrain from assuming I have any such interest in devouring souls... " She sighed, not knowing whether she should simply continue moving on, or bother trying to express her disinterest in battle.
She decided that there was atleast one more task at hand, though. "Pardon my lack of manners, my name is Terra. Terra Lilius. Pleased to meet you, sir." She bowed very slightly, not as a typical woman would with a dress, but as a knight might, when meeting a noble. More of a nod, with a slight bow forward.
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Faust
Ronin
Runaway Muse! Everyone, hit the deck![Mo0:2]
Posts: 39
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Post by Faust on Jul 26, 2009 19:32:44 GMT -5
It worked? Roscoe needed a moment to recognize that he didn't need to engage in Operation Rabbit-Foot just yet. When he did, he put down his hands and cleared his throat. "Yes, indeed. It is, um... nice to meet you too, Miss... er, Terra Lilus." He realized that he hadn't the faintest what Netherworld customs were. Should he bow too, or was he supposed to do something else?
He decided to skip the formalities. If he could maintain the appearance of a tough, important figure, he might well make an ally here, or at the very least lengthen his life expectancy. "I apologize for my rude behavior, however my situation demands that I take no risk." He remembered his commander on the ship, the clipped, efficient manner in which he spoke, and tried to mimic it. "You see, I have come to this... area on an important assignment, and have so far ran into a fair bit of bad luck. A horrid monster attack. Needless to say, I survived, though I'm a bit worse for wear, as the saying goes."
He thought for a moment about what he was going to ask the young lady. "In any case, I seem to have lost my bearings. Tell me, do you know the way to... West City?" Of course, there wasn't a real West City. But Roscoe surmised that Terra had to have come from some kind of settlement. If pressed, he felt like finding civilization might be a step in the right direction. If the people there had any technology he could use...
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Post by Hazzerous on Jul 26, 2009 20:07:51 GMT -5
"West city?" Terra placed a hand to her face, seemingly lost in thought. You'd think this would have only lasted for a few brief moments, but it was actually several minutes before she actually came out, regaining her sudden awareness of the situation. "I do not believe I've ever heard of such a city, Sir Roscoe. However, if you would like, you may accompany me on my return trip towards the castle. Surely you would be able to find out what you need to know from our library. We could very well find you 'West City.' " Terra returned to her casual stance. Oi ... what am I doing? Etna is going to have my hide, if I don't get a move on.
She retrieved her sword, placing it back onto her side. She didn't think Roscoe was still cautious of her, and if he was, she'd merely calm him down once more. "Sir Roscoe, if you would like to accompany me, it would be my honor to allow you to." With that she began to turn away, but stopped after a couple steps and looked back, beckoning for Roscoe to follow her. "Blair Forest is a dangerous wood. It would not do your health well to stay here for long."
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Asagi
Angel
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 190
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Post by Asagi on Jul 26, 2009 23:34:50 GMT -5
(OoC: I'd like to join too! I need to expand my roleplaying experience.)
By some bizarre and extremely unlikely coincidence, there was a second human in the very same forest. Asagi was simply wandering around, as she always had been ever since fleeing the service of a specific Overlord, when she stumbled upon Roscoe's and Terra's conversation. She hadn't heard the entirety of the exchange, so she had no idea that one of them was a human like her.
Assuming that they were both demons, as was common in the Netherworld, Asagi decided to follow them discreetly, to learn more about the two before approaching them directly. Asagi had little trouble moving around quietly, due to her lack of noisy armor, but she wasn't experienced at espionage, so she just kept her distance and hoped she wouldn't be noticed too soon.
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Faust
Ronin
Runaway Muse! Everyone, hit the deck![Mo0:2]
Posts: 39
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Post by Faust on Jul 27, 2009 9:00:01 GMT -5
"Ahem, yes. Very well then." It worked! In his head, Roscoe was doing a little victory dance. Whether or not this Terra was planning to use his soul as a doily or whatever demons did with souls, at the very least he had made a temporary ally. Just as long as she was convinced he was a demon, and apparently a master of martial arts at that...
He followed, a step or two behind the knight. She seemed to be relatively powerful. Anyone who was willing to go romping through a dangerous forest alone had to be pretty sure of their abilities, he figured. Still, something wasn't right. Maybe it was just paranoia sinking in, or maybe it was the forest playing tricks on him, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. He kept a close eye on Terra's reaction, to see if she felt it too, and meannwhile he fiddled around an empty holster on his waist. If he had only thought to take a weapon before making his escape...
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